ᐅ Single-Family Home on a South-Facing Slope – Floor Plan Design and Tips?
Created on: 5 Feb 2019 11:39
P
philipok
Hello everyone,
Things are getting serious for us: we're moving into the detailed planning of our building project. I would really appreciate your feedback on our amateur floor plan design. We are building in the Ore Mountains, in Germany’s highest-altitude town, Oberwiesenthal. Here, prices are still similar to those in former East Germany (I have compared and there is a significant price difference). So, here we go...
Development Plan / Restrictions
Things are getting serious for us: we're moving into the detailed planning of our building project. I would really appreciate your feedback on our amateur floor plan design. We are building in the Ore Mountains, in Germany’s highest-altitude town, Oberwiesenthal. Here, prices are still similar to those in former East Germany (I have compared and there is a significant price difference). So, here we go...
Development Plan / Restrictions
- Plot size: 1,200 sqm (0.3 acres)
- Slope: facing south
- Site coverage ratio: unknown
- Floor area ratio: unknown
- Building zone, building line, and boundary:
- 3 m (10 ft) from the property boundary
- The properties to the south and west belong to my parents
- Edge development: unknown
- Number of parking spaces: 2 (carport on the east side of the house)
- Number of floors: basement, ground floor, first floor, attic
- Roof type: gable roof, pitch 35-38°
- Architectural style: Bavarian farmhouse
- Orientation: east-west, meaning roof slopes facing north-south
- Maximum heights / limits: must adapt to the surrounding buildings
- Other requirements: unknown
- Style, roof, building type:
- Country/wood house (basement and ground floor with white plaster exterior; upper floor and roof structure with wooden planks in Tyrolean castle look)
- Gable roof
- Basement and floors
- Basement partly used commercially (my wife’s naturopathy practice and my office, with separate access from outside/south)
- Ground and first floors as living areas
- Attic: half storage, half sleeping/chill area for our children with friends or guests
- Number and age of residents
- Kati (40) & Philipp (39)
- Helene (10), Benedikt (8), and Valerie (6)
- Space requirements on ground and first floors
- see floor plans (approx. 150 sqm (1,615 sq ft))
- Office: commercial use
- Guest nights per year: 20–30
- Open or closed architecture: closed (mountains, cold winters, constant wind)
- Conservative or modern construction method: conservative
- Open kitchen: yes; kitchen island: no
- Number of dining seats
- Standard: 5
- Expandable to 10
- Fireplace: masonry stove with viewing window (water-heated)
- Music/sound wall: no
- Balcony: ground floor facing south; roof terrace: no
- Garage: no; carport for 2 vehicles
- Utility garden: no; greenhouse: yes
- Other wishes/special features/daily routine
- We still have real winters in Oberwiesenthal
- The children usually ski daily
- They come home with wet clothes and ski boots, carrying their ski equipment
- Therefore, a second entrance in the basement on the west side is planned, including a simple cloakroom and storage room for skis or mountain bikes in summer and work clothes after gardening
- Important: currently, Oberwiesenthal has a lot of snow (approx. 150 cm (59 inches))
- Paths and driveways must be cleared in winter
- Snow must be cleverly “stored” (i.e., the snow storage must be carved so that after two months of snow clearing, the snow blower can still throw snow over the snow wall)
- Considerations regarding roof slopes and sliding snow
- In the basement there is a prep kitchen for the Prijut12, which I will operate starting May 2020 (a rustic wooden hut with a modest menu and great location for drinks)
- In the prep kitchen, before the main winter season, we want to a) prepare and freeze food, or b) cook fresh meals in larger quantities and sell them right opposite at Prijut12 (about 80 m (260 ft) away)
- The kitchen in Prijut12 is very small
- Planner:
- Do-it-yourself
- What do you especially like? Why?
- Large windows / sliding door facing south and west
- The sunlight comes in (solar energy enters the house)
- The view to the southwest is simply breathtaking (ski slope, night skiing, Klínovec mountain as the highest peak of the Ore Mountains)
- The view is unobstructed and without trees
- Open living and kitchen area
- Interaction with children and friends while cooking, for example
- Cozy “shell-pu-pu” corner including TV
- My father implemented this in his holiday home
- It is very cozy
- Large lounging area
- Curtains cover the TV (it disappears from daily view)
- Second small bathroom on the first floor
- When our two daughters enter puberty, they will have their own hygiene area
- Cost estimate according to architect/planner: €480,000
- Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: €500,000
- Preferred heating technology: I’m quite uncertain and undecided...
- Option 1:
- Solar thermal for hot water preparation
- Gas condensing boiler
- Water-heated masonry stove (I have 2 ha of land, so wood supply, and definitely want a fire stove inside)
- Option 2:
- Water-heated masonry stove
- Ground-source heat pump
- Supplied by a photovoltaic system
- If you had to give up something, what details/extensions would you omit?
- Reduce size of guest/workroom on ground floor
- Guest bathroom on ground floor without shower (purely guest toilet)
- What can you not do without?
- Living rooms
- 2 bathrooms
- Prep kitchen
- Practice room
- Office
- Why is the design like it is now?
- Because we want lots of light in the living area
- Because we can enjoy a great view in a fantastic location
- Because I personally want to use as much solar energy as possible
- Because in summer we want to open the large sliding door to step directly into the garden where the greenhouse will be and where I will tend to my bees (I want to start beekeeping)
- Because we have no technical know-how for the requirements
- Standard design from planner: none yet
- What is the most important fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
- Does this floor plan make sense regarding building technology/piping routes, and can the forum identify flaws for daily use?
M
Mottenhausen10 Feb 2019 00:13I have to defend TE again here: our traditional "architecture" is truly unique but classically boring and no longer up-to-date since around 2019.
Typically, there are two full stories with a pitched roof on top. The ground floor is solidly built, housing laundry rooms, workshops, garages, and similar spaces. The living areas are located on the timber-framed upper floor or a timber stud frame upper floor with wood or slate cladding. The attic is usable thanks to a steep roof pitch and small dormers. The steep roof slope is also due to heavy snow loads in winter, with generally no eaves, which is why the facade is often slate-covered. The basic house shape is elongated: the length of the eaves side to the gable side is usually at least 2:1, often 3:1.
Except for the "Stube," all rooms are very small, with ceiling heights between 1.80 and a maximum of 2.20 meters (5 ft 11 in to 7 ft 3 in). Honestly, who still wants to build and live like this today? I don’t see a single architectural feature here that could be meaningfully adapted for new construction.
Typically, there are two full stories with a pitched roof on top. The ground floor is solidly built, housing laundry rooms, workshops, garages, and similar spaces. The living areas are located on the timber-framed upper floor or a timber stud frame upper floor with wood or slate cladding. The attic is usable thanks to a steep roof pitch and small dormers. The steep roof slope is also due to heavy snow loads in winter, with generally no eaves, which is why the facade is often slate-covered. The basic house shape is elongated: the length of the eaves side to the gable side is usually at least 2:1, often 3:1.
Except for the "Stube," all rooms are very small, with ceiling heights between 1.80 and a maximum of 2.20 meters (5 ft 11 in to 7 ft 3 in). Honestly, who still wants to build and live like this today? I don’t see a single architectural feature here that could be meaningfully adapted for new construction.
I have to admit, I don’t really remember the distinctively regional house building style in the Erzgebirge when we were there recently. It’s just like @Mottenhausen describes—a rather dull base for a new build: narrow houses with steep roofs. Hmm.
I don’t find the Bavarian-style copy that bad in the Erzgebirge. After all, it is a mountainous area with cold winters.
Where I live, someone built a ski log cabin right in the middle of the city on flat land. That’s more unusual, I think.
I don’t find the Bavarian-style copy that bad in the Erzgebirge. After all, it is a mountainous area with cold winters.
Where I live, someone built a ski log cabin right in the middle of the city on flat land. That’s more unusual, I think.
M
Mottenhausen10 Feb 2019 22:12Exactly! Although the "Gebirge" in "Erzgebirge" should not be understood as a mountain range in the strict sense, there are still real winters here and quite popular ski resorts. Therefore, an alpine style of construction is not entirely out of place.
Mottenhausen schrieb:
Our traditional "architecture" here is really unique and classically dull Now let’s make a point again: houses in the mountain region do not look like this. Mountain architecture is hardy for winter and characterized by timber construction, but precisely architectural innovators from these regions find ways to create new interpretations. So it’s about emphasizing the regional character WITHOUT directly copying museum-like dollhouse designs.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
ypg schrieb:
We can’t guess the measurements yet.
However, it seems more like you are misjudging your own work.
Should we praise your amateur floor plan, where you haven’t even roughly planned the staircase yourself, so that later you tell the architect: exactly like this and no other way? Later you will regret it.
Be glad we are being honest with you.I am. I learned early from my father: Be grateful for constructive, critical feedback.
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